Sophomore Jessie DeZiel worked as an all-around competitor at Friday's intrasquad.

Photo by Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

Nebraska Strong in First Intrasquad

By NU Athletic Communications

| 11/16/2012

Lincoln, Neb. - The Nebraska women's gymnastics team gained valuable preseason competition experience in its intrasquad on Friday, performing in front of nearly 300 fans at Mabel Lee Hall. The defending Big Ten champion Huskers worked on vault, bars, beam and floor en route to a team score of 195.95.

"I think today, we accomplished what we needed to accomplish," Head Coach Dan Kendig said. "For the most part, the team did a really good job. We had some midseason-type performances. We also have some things we need to work on; some polishing up and some showmanship things. I think the girls had fun doing it, and I hope that showed."

The Huskers worked six competitors in all-around competition: Jordyn Beck, DeZiel, Giblin, Lauer, Ariel Martin and Wong. Friday night also marked a return to competition for senior and All-American Kassandra Nathe, who has battled back from two seasons of injuries to position herself as one of Nebraska's top peformers on bars and beam this season.

The Huskers began the evening on vault, posting a score of 49.25 overall. The event is expected to be one of NU's deepest and strongest events this season. The Big Red saw several strong individual performances, including a big vault from second-team All-American Jessie DeZiel. First-team All-American Janelle Giblin and true freshman Hollie Blanske also put up solid performances for the Huskers.

NU moved to bars and beam next, running the events in conjunction with one another. NU tallied a score of 48.95 on bars, paced by excellent performances from second-team All-American Janelle Giblin and sophomore Jennifer Lauer on bars. On beam, NU put up a team score of 49.20. The Huskers were led by returning first-team All-American Emily Wong and Blanske.

Nebraska finished the evening on floor exercise, picking up a score of 48.55. Several Huskers will be in contention for spots in the floor lineup this season, and Friday night gave those team members some solid looks. Returning first-team All-American DeZiel turned in a midseason-level performance, while Wong also had an excellent showing on the night.

The Huskers will open their regular season on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. CST on the road against the Michigan Wolverines. NU's first home meet of the season is set for Saturday, Jan. 19, when the Big Red will host Michigan State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. That meet is slated for a 6 p.m. CST start.